Jeremy Vine has admitted he "understands" why Seann Walsh and Katya Jones got close during Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals. The 53-year-old, who appeared in the BBC ballroom series in 2015, confessed he developed feelings for his professional partner Karen Clifton. Speaking on his new chat show, The Jeremy Vine Show, on Tuesday, the presenter explained: "I thought, 'Gosh, I can see why this happens' because you go into a completely different space. For me, I hadn't done any dancing. Suddenly I'm seeing someone who is like a goddess - super human."

Jeremy Vine danced with Karen Clifton on Strictly in 2015

He added: "The power and the strength and grace of that person, and then you are spending eight, nine hours a day within two inches of them. It's a powerful thing, that's all I can say. I thought, 'I don't know what I'm feeling here.'" Jeremy, who is happily married to fellow journalist Rachel Schofield, revealed that his wife was unfazed by those feelings. "She was quite cool about it," he added. "Cool as in relaxed because I think she was quoting Sybil Fawlty who said, 'For goodness sake Basil, do you really think a woman like that would be interested in a brilliantine stick insect like you?'"

Seann and Katya were forced to apologise for their drunken kiss during a late night out in London last week. On Sunday, the comedian wrote: "In light of the story in today's newspaper I would like to offer my sincere apologies for my actions. This is no excuse but it was a one-off drunken mistake which I am truly sorry for." Meanwhile, the Strictly champion's statement read: "I'm so sorry about any offence or hurt I may have caused with my actions. I wasn't thinking and it was a one-off mistake after some drinks. I love my husband and we are very happy together, this is not a reflection on our relationship."

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The following day, Seann's heartbroken partner, Rebecca Humphries, broke her silence and confirmed that they had split following his actions. "Hello there, my name is Rebecca Humphries and I am not a victim. I wasn't sure whether to respond to events from the past week, but I feel the narrative has missed a couple of crucial elements that I would like to clear up." She later added that the photographs were taken on her birthday – and that she voiced her suspicions to Seann, but they were shut down. "He aggressively, and repeatedly, called me a psycho/ nuts/ mental. As he has done countless times throughout our relationship when I've questioned his inappropriate, hurtful behaviour," she added.

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